According to Report, India is deliberating potential censorship on streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, a senior government source told Reuters.
While film and TV certification bodies
already
moderate public content in India, the country’s laws do not allow
censorship of content on the increasingly popular online streaming platforms.
The government’s concern has
been sparked by several court cases and complaints filed to the police in
recent months, alleging that some content was obscene or insulted religious
sentiment, said the government official, who has direct knowledge of the
deliberations.
Though concerns around
possible censorship had prompted Netflix and Indian rival Hotstar to signs a
self-regulation code in January, Amazon did not sign up and said “the current
laws are adequate”.
“The self-regulation isn’t
the same for all, which is raising a concern ... the directions are clear, we
have to see how to address the problems,” the government official said.
Netflix’s first Indian
original series, “Sacred Games”, faced a court challenge last year over
“offensive scenes” and derogatory remarks about a former Indian prime minister,
but the case was later dismissed.
There was also a police
complaint filed last month by an Indian politician who accused some Netflix
shows of “defaming Hindus”. It is unclear whether this will go further and a
Mumbai police spokesman had no immediate comment on Thursday.
- Reuters
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